1650 hours, Knockturn Alley
Le Masquerade


It was barely the start of a new year but already the wizarding world was abuzz with activity in London City. And as it buzzed, a lithe cat of tawny colour went quietly trotting towards the entrance of Knockturn Alley. It was only when it approached the desired door that the creature extended forward into human form.

Raine Almasy shook her head, expecting red curls to dance- remembering belatedly that she had just come from a hair appointment. Frowning, she glanced around the alley instead. None had noticed her transformation, nobody seemed to be about this area at all.

"Curious..." she murmured, gaze sliding to the rather impressive building; and then to the statues overlooking the door. Difficult place to miss. The sculptures watched her as she watched them. Raine reached into her jacket pocket and withdrew a key as she approached, glancing at her watch.

Still two hours until dinner with Aunt Ira. The invitation had been enigmatic and... and exciting. Secretive. Raine liked secrets, though she was naturally suspicious of them. Especially when they involved masks.

Click. The key slipped and turned efficiently. Looking over her shoulder, the young witch entered through to a foyer with dark and ornate wallpaper. Her mask went on at this point. There was a reception desk but the woman who minded it appeared to be speaking with somebody else and so Raine found herself moving for one of the blue sofas instead. She sat, shoulders pulled back alertly, and waited.

"Alanna, chérie, drop whatever you are doing and immediately call for—" Éloi's voice suddenly stopped as he noticed the small masked figure sitting on one of the waiting couches. "Well, well" he thought to himself as a smile formed on his face. He'd recognize those red curls anywhere, but he couldn't help but frown seeing as they had lost some of their length. He'd been fascinated with her ever since he'd seen her a few days ago hexing a poor unfortunate boy in the middle of what appeared to be her birthday party. Éloi was intrigued.

So he wasted no time in tracking her down and using his extensive connections to find out everything he could about her. And his fascination only grew when he found out she was the niece of one of his masqueradians, Ira Almasy. She was a beautiful sight in the midst of her anger that time at her party, and Éloi had been instantly reminded of an angered lioness. It only seemed fit that she was a Gryffindor, as he had later uncovered. He crossed his arms over his chest, absentmindedly stroking the silky feathers of his cape and watched her. He would've liked to see her on very high, dangerous heels, he mused as his gaze fell on her feet. But nonetheless, what he could see of her dress was divine, indeed.  "Alanna, I'll be dealing with the mademoiselle myself" he said in a pleased voice, smiling at his dear receptionist. "Please make sure you have everything on standby for the contract" he said chipper as he approached the sofa.

He stopped in front of her and raised an eyebrow invitingly, before he leaned down to her, dangerously close, only to sneak his hand from beneath his see-through cape and gently raise hers to his lips. His mouth raised to one corner, forming a very inviting smirk, before he pressed his lips to the back of her hand. "Éloi Desrosiers, proprietor of Le Masque and your charming host for the evening" he laughed softly. "Enchanté" he added with a charismatic smile. "Would you do me the pleasure of joining me in my office to discuss your invitation?" he asked, one eyebrow arched.

It was an entrancing moment, being addressed by the long-haired creature who had approached her with all the ease and confidence of a wild thing. Raine had allowed for her eyes to be carried away by his sight as he leaned forward- touching his lips to her hand.

Curiouser and curiouser.

Her breeding snapped into being, lips widening into a smile underneath the mask; she stood gracefully and affected a mild curtsy at the man. There was no need to introduce herself for surely, being aware of the invitation, he must already have known.

"To be met by the proprietor himself," Raine heard herself say. "I am honoured." Why was it the words did not seem to belong to her? Was it the masks? It was an intoxicating sensation of not having to be oneself.

In a way, she understood it to be a dangerous sensation as well and her eyes glimmered with caution. There was glamour- and glamour she knew, but this place was still a mystery.

"How could I refuse?" she nodded once, obligingly, and began to follow the Monsieur Desrosiers towards his office; or what she hoped to be his office. He could be leading her anywhere for all she knew of Le Masque.

He chuckled richly, darkly at hearing and seeing her so gracefully falling into the dreadful courtesies they had both, apparently been brought up with. He started towards the first checkpoint and stopped to nod at his guards, waiting for the little mademoiselle to catch up. When she was next to him, he looked down at her and smiled mysteriously while gently snaking an arm around hers. He looked at the doors and the guards opened them.

Keeping a leisure pace, he guided her through the club. "This" he said making a broad gesture showing off the room "is the Grand Hall. Behind us we have the bar, properly stocked to suit all tastes, before us, our magnificent stage, a perfect replica of the Opéra national de Paris—to remind me of home" he smiled warmly. "There's cabaret shows all week, live bands, concerts and such" he said with a dismissing wave of his hand. "To the sides, there are two entrances to the private rooms" he said in a leering voice. "Everything goes there" he said in a darker tone and leaned closer to her ear. "Everything" he whispered seductively, millimeters away from  her ear, and let out a small breath, sure to make an impression. He quickly straightened his back and put back his inviting, polite face. "To one side of the stage, there's the restroom. To the other side, is where we are going now" he said pointing at the stairway framed by two guardians and a barrier rope. "Unless you are a member of the staff, you will only be seeing this area once, and if you are not a VIP you shall never see that part of the club" he said in a musing tone, his accent much more poignant. "So I suggest you take a good look now, to satisfy - what I think is - your atrocious curiosity" he smirked.

They were getting closer to the stairway now and he inclined his head at his guards who immediately straightened their backs and the rope of the barrier swung in mid-air. "As you've seen, along the walls there's tables arranged for a rest from dancing or enjoying a gourmet French meal. However, during our La Bohème nights, we move them in front of the stage for a better view. Ah, La Bohème are the nights in which we encourage our members to share their expertise in their fields with us: music, art, dancing, crafts, even mastery of some of the more interesting magical sports, such as dueling. But we'll talk of that at some later time. After you, mademoiselle" he said as he gently took a hold of her hand, guiding her to climb the stairs first.

When they reached the second floor, Éloi found himself deviating from his usual tour. He was very curious to see how the little lioness would fare at Le Masque, so instead of guiding her to the right, where four burly wizards guarded the entrance to the staff area, he took her to the left, to the VIP area. After all, his office may be exquisitely decorated, but it was not very welcoming. He gently guided her to one of the lounges and encouraged her to take a seat, excusing himself for a second. He exchanged a few words with the bartender, and soon all the staff in the area took their leave and he joined her at the low table, seating himself opposite from her.

"Well, well, it seem you get to see the VIP area after all" he smiled seductively. "Before we start with the actual story of all that is Le Masque, I'll have to apologize for what is to come. In order to verify that you are indeed Raine Almasy - and this is the first and last time you shall hear someone calling you by that name here, or the last circumstance in which you shall address yourself as such - I shall have to ask you to either provide me with a memory of the moment you came in possession of the invitation, or let our highly-skilled Legillimens to access your mind and seek for said memory. He is bound in a rather nasty oath to only look for that memory and will suffer severe, even deadly, consequences if he were to even subtly refer to whatever else he might've seen inside your mind. Well, mademoiselle, which one shall it be?" he asked serenely.

The tour was impressive and there was no denying it.

Behind her dark mask, Raine's eyes glimmered with interest and mild astonishment. London was amok with all forms of the bizarre but to think that such a place had existed underneath their noses while the mundane went on outside... it was a wonder of magic. At the mention of atrocious curiousity, she could only raise a sardonic brow- was she so obvious? Her feet followed Desrosiers lithely and with the deference of a doll being drawn away.

Until at last she found them in a room that was quickly ridding itself of other occupants; staff members, presumably. This worried the witch a little and she relaxed upon being told where they were.

"That's kind of you. It's very... ornate." VIP area. Again, the glamour- and how it glittered like gold here, more than anywhere else in the club.

Raine sat with her feet folded at the ankles and an arm resting against the back of her seat. Confident, though only in caution and as a show of credence. This talk of memories sent a frown to her face however. Rather than respond immediately, she allowed for a lapse of silence to consider the notion.

"Allowing another person into my head," she started. "Would be rather uncharacteristic of me, sir, and I think would disappoint the virtue of such a verification. Irregardless of deadly oaths." Raine relaxed her posture, bringing herself to lean forward slightly. "I am trained to extract memories, and would be happy to oblige the former alternative."

Honestly, she didn't think that she would be thanking Merlin so soon for Kesali's memory charms.

"I understand perfectly chérie. Having someone rummage through your head can be unpleasant" he paused, and smiled a small, mysterious smile and raised an eyebrow "—at times" he added chuckling. He waved his arm for a second and felt the handle of his wand fall into his palm. He wordlessly cast a spell to the entryway of the salon and a few seconds later one of the guards came in with a small, ornate bowl and settled it on the table. "Wait to take it back, Serghei" he said to the guard, as the man took an at ease pose, towering over the beautiful young red-head. "Merde, Serghei! Personal space" he said with an exasperated sigh.

The guard cringed and took a few steps back. "Well, mademosielle, if you please..." he smiled. "Serghei here will take it back to our Legillimens and he will review it for us" he explained as he got on his feet, to give Raine some privacy. He walked behind the bar and extracted a bottle of wine and two glasses. He returned at the table and set the glasses down. He magically uncorked the bottle and poured into both his and Mademoiselle Almasy's glasses. "The wine—vraiment merveilleux! 1993 was a very good year for Pinot Noirs" he mused smiling.

Once she was done with the Pensieve he nodded towards Serghei, and the guard immediately made himself sparse with the bowl. He waved his wand in the air again and soon enough Alanna was there with a dossier in hand. The petite woman smiled at her boss and walked towards the couch. She let the dossier on the table and turned to smile at the young redhead. "Gorgeous dress, darling" the receptionist said in a girly high-pitched voice, as she was turning to leave. "Would've been deadly with a pair of high patent leather heels, however" Alanna winked as she left the salon.

Éloi chuckled into his glass and turned his gaze to look at the lovely almost-woman in front of him. "Although Alanna has no business conversing with clients outside the reception -as I keep reminding her- she is most certainly right" he said inclining his head and raising his eyebrows in admiration. "While we wait for the—ah, verdict" he laughed softly. "You should peruse the brochures,[1] if you haven't already at the reception" he said as he extricated the elegantly designed brochures, dressed in blue velvet covers from the dossier. "And if you have any questions, please" he invited with a gesture of his hand.

1.	Bienvenue à "Le Masquerade"

While she couldn't fathom how another person's presence in her mind - bar her late sister - could be pleasant, Raine allowed the statement to flitter away in the manner that the gentleman's sentences seemed rather apt to do. The task of retrieving the memory itself was simple. Infinitely preferable to leglimens (or so she could only assume).

A silvery thread of that instant was drawn from her right temple; it was frail by appearance but certainly most tangible in nature. There had been nothing unusual about the day she had received the invitation besides her natural surprise. By the time this memory had been lowered into the proffered bowl, her host had returned.

And he had returned with  wine. "The wine—vraiment merveilleux!" he commented. "1993 was a very good year for Pinot Noirs".

Raine raised an eyebrow in understanding the reference, and she suppressed the impulse to feel flattered. Not that she had much space to react- the receptionist was in view again. The redhead glanced up in surprise at the compliment before looking down; first at her dress, then her shoes.

"Deadly..." she mused to herself as the witch left them. "I suppose so." Why not deadly, after all? Raine returned her gaze to Éloi, unable to hide the strange mixture of wariness and captivation that Le Masque was proving to inspire. Her eyes dropped down to the brochures and a slender arm reached across- not to open but to touch the cover thoughtfully.

This was a peculiar Wonderland.

"Nobody does something for nothing." The Gryffindor observed as she looked back up with an expression that was mature, in spite of her girlish colouring. "What do you get out of all this, besides money? Entertainment?"

Perhaps he was the Queen of Hearts- or worse, their Mad Hatter.

"Why of course, chérie" he said beaming at her as he clasped his hands to his chest. Not many would've had the courage to say that to his face, to identify the rather bizarre ways in which Éloi entertained himself and he was all the more anxious to have her at Le Masque. "There is nothing more beautiful and more terrible than seeing the core of humans, and what better way to let yourself be yourself - your true, unpolished, unrestrained self - than from the comfort a mask offers you, hmmm?" he asked smiling whimsically as he settled his head in his hands.

"I've always had a fascination for chaos, but not the sort of chaos that breeds destruction, no. The sort of chaos that comes with an order to it, the kind of order that only some see. For a simple shop keeper, an Arithmantic equation, will be just a jumble of numbers and signs, a cause for frustration and fear, for what the human mind does not understand, it fears. But pass the equation to the Arithmancer and his face will light up like a Christmas Tree, it will touch his most inner self and he will be buzzing, hungry for more, understanding it right to its core" he said gesticulating lazily, but his face radiating excitement.

"Le Masque is so much more than just a nightclub" he said with a tinge of disapproval in his face. "Le Masque is the human experience—the human experience in its most pure and raw form, for those that truly embrace it. It is meant to be the liberation of your true self, your true nature and it is beautiful to watch" he said with absolute dedication in his eyes. "I am the Arithmancer and Le Masque and its masqueradians are my equation, mademoiselle" he said finally with a warm smile. So few actually saw beyond what the establishment really was and so few actually embraced it truly. But he was content, nonetheless, for it was soon growing into the Utopia he had envisioned it to be.

Serghei appeared into his visual field, nodding curtly at his employer before taking off. "Well then, it appears you are indeed Raine Elizabeth Gizella Almasy" he said with a small smile before straightening his back. He extracted some papers from the dossier and shuffled them around the table. "This is the contract" he said as he placed it in front of her. "It will require your signature in blood, which means it will hold your magical signature. "It is necessary first and foremost, because your magical signature is the only one way to identify yourself that can never ever be forged, faked, or otherwise tampered with. At the same time, the key you have received shall then be imbued with your signature. That key, will become yours and yours alone, and it shall be used as means of entrance to all that is Le Masque" he said smiling.

"Peruse the contract and its annex, as well as the pamphlets and let me know of your answer or questions, hmm?" he said smiling brightly.